


A New Life Awaits - 30 A.B.

by FanFicReader01



Series: The Unknown Below [1]
Category: Poets of the Fall
Genre: Airships, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Apocalypse, Fantasy, Post-Apocalypse, Slice of Life, mention of alex from eisbrecher, skyland - Freeform, the unknown below
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 06:09:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20148928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFicReader01/pseuds/FanFicReader01
Summary: Living on his own on the Floating Islands for a few years now, Jaska decides to join the Mother Ship and start a new life there as a musician.It's the famous ship that contains the majority of Humanity, ever since the Blast turned the world as we know it upside down and beyond proper repair.





	A New Life Awaits - 30 A.B.

**Author's Note:**

> Story 1

_“Welcome aboard on the Mother Ship. My name is Alexander Wesselsky and I’m the Captain of this glorious ship. I hope you’ll make yourself a noteworthy part of the Crew. Contribute to Humanity and serve us well. And hopefully then you’ll enjoy your stay!”_

Jaska stares at the blueish hologram of the Captain at the entrance of the massive airship. The man seems to be an intimidating, tall guy with broad shoulders and rough facial hair. He wears a hat and a neat fitting uniform. Dark sunglasses hide his eyes. His greeting was short and compact but effective. Before Jaska can think any longer about it, the hologram disappears and he’s pushed further into the ship. After a thorough check-up by security, he is finally allowed to enter. Not that there’s much to check upon him; he’s a simple civilian trying to get by. He only possesses one duffle bag and one guitar case.

With a special card that shows him his shared space, he walks inside. There’s a large common area where most people of the ship are during the day. Unashamed, Jaska lets his jaw drop at the impressive sight of this humongous space. And it’s _packed _with people. It shouldn’t come as a surprise though: the majority of Humanity resides here in this very ship. It isn’t for nothing that this vehicle is called the _Mother_ Ship. Many people here wear simple, modest clothing in various shades of brown and grey and black. Not many stand out from the crowd, only those with special suits. Jaska assumes they’re crew staff or something. A bit unsure what to do, he decides to go look for his sleeping quarters.

With difficulty he pushes himself through the dense crowd. Some people give harsh remarks while others completely ignore him and his guitar. However, his presence seems to not go unnoticed by one person sitting at a dining table.

“Sir, sir, wait!”

Jaska turns around and looks into blue eyes, framed by locks of pale blond hair. A man, seemingly younger than him, gives him an excited look.

“Is that really, you know, a guitar?” the blond asks, pointing at Jaska’s case.

“Well, yes it is. Why you asking?” Jaska frowns confused.

“There are barely any music instruments here on this ship. The common people don’t have access to music at all! Super unfair,” the younger man crosses his arms and grimaces.

“Oh,” is all Jaska can say to that.

Then the blond chuckles and scratches the back of his head. He uses his other hand to gesture Jaska to shake hands. A bit reluctant, the dark haired man does so.

“Where are my manners. My name is Olli Tukiainen!”

“I’m Jaska Mäkinen.”

“Nice to meet you, Jaska! You must be new around here? At least, I never saw you before and you also looked a bit lost.”

“I am,” Jaska chuckles awkwardly. “_I’m new_, I mean. But yeah, also a bit lost. Could you help me find my sleep place?” He shows the other man his card he got upon entering the ship.

“Ah, I see. Funny, it’s the same quarters where I sleep. Come on, I can show you!” Without questioning, Jaska lets Olli take his hand guide him through the crowd.

This ship feels like a metal maze. Narrow corridors and a few staircases later, they’ve arrived at the sleep quarters. The place reminds Jaska of old train wagons back in his childhood. On both sides of the vertical cabin, there would be bunkbeds. Except, this place looked less comfortable to sleep in. Three beds stacked on top of each other. Almost no space between the next row of beds. Countless rows of wagons and even more rows of beds. A lot of them were customized by the owners. Blankets to create walls between the other beds, clothes, snack bars and other food, some books or toys all made these beds clearly lived in.

“Come on over!” Olli’s voice snaps Jaska out of his thoughts. The younger man is already a few ‘wagons’ further.

“I’m on it!” Jaska quickly catches up to the other man.

“This was your number, right?” Olli asks and Jaska nods. They’re looking at the second bunk bed. Jaska’s disappointment or horror must be visible on his face because Olli gives him a concerned look.

“Say, Jaska, I know this is probably not what you’ve hoped for when arriving on the Mother Ship, but this is the life for us commoners. You’ll get used to it. And look around you, everyone can make their bed their small home. I’m sure you have some stuff in that bag to decorate your place?”

“Yeah,” Jaska mutters. Why did he board this ship again?

Right, he didn’t want to stay on the Floating Islands for the rest of his life. He didn’t want to know the fear of running out of supplies and food. Or the fear of getting pillaged by pirates. So he went to the closest harbour for the ships, hoping the Mother Ship would make its appearance too. But now that he’s here, he wonders if this Ship can even feed all its inhabitants, if even sleeping space here seems to be scarce.

Olli places a gentle hand on his shoulder. He smiles. Jaska tries to smile back.

“Come on, let’s go back. You must be hungry. The café is open. Afterward, I’ll show you around some more if you want to. And I can tell you all about the workings here.”

“That’s appreciated, Olli. Thank you for taking care of me.”

While the duo makes their way back to the living area, Jaska wonders if Olli has been there when the world he knew exploded and got lifted up in the air. That was thirty years ago and Jaska was just a little boy of eleven.

“May I ask something personally?” he begins.

“Sure, shoot,” Olli simply replies.

“Have you been there? Before the Blast?”

“Yeah. But I was too young to truly remember much about the world then,” Olli says in a low voice. They finally come to a halt in the dining area. They both put a plate from the pile and wait in queue for their food. Luckily, the line isn’t too long.

“I was only five,” Olli continues and that’s where their convo about it stops.

The food they’re served is not bad. Jaska expected worse after seeing his bed. It’s nothing compared to the high cuisine he sometimes drank in back before the Blast, but honestly Jaska wonders if his memories of that time are still realistic, and not some fantasy created over the years.

“Every two days the chefs here try to give us a different meal. Normally there’s also a separate dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Olli starts explaining while Jaska eats some mashed potatoes.

“It isn’t that bad. Or maybe I live here too long,” the blond chuckles.

Jaska smiles and hums. While he continues eating, Olli also begins his meal but his eyes are fixed on the black case.

“Can I see it after this?”

“Sure. Might be a nice moment for me to practice. During the last days of traveling, I didn’t have much energy left to play this beaut,” Jaska is glad at least someone has shown interest in his guitar.

Once they’ve finished their meals, the two men go to the living space again. They find a less crowded couch and thud down. Carefully Jaska takes out his guitar. Olli’s eyes light up at the sight.

“Can I touch it?”

Jaska laughs out loud. “Sure, she won’t bite!” Olli’s fingers trail over the dark wood with great care. Eventually he takes the instrument into his lap. By the looks of it, Olli is accustomed with it.

“So you’re a guitarist too.”

“_Was_. Some rebels destroyed my guitar a few years ago. Never got to find a new one,” the blond man’s eyes turn sad.

“Damn, I’m sorry to hear that. If you want, you can give it a try on this one,” Jaska encourages. That makes Olli smile again. At the beginning, the tuning goes a bit clumsy and the actual first notes coming from the instrument sound harsh. With some steering and guidance, Jaska helps his new made friend.

Then the most beautiful melody Jaska has ever heard, is played from his guitar by this wonderful guy he met only an hour or less ago. The ship’s room seems to be pushed to the background. Noises are reduced. There’s only Jaska and Olli and the guitar. For a moment, Jaska forgets about the cramped space he’ll have to live in for the next couple of years. Maybe with this Olli on his side, he’ll manage to get by. After all, he’s missed good company and someone who shares his passion for music.


End file.
